Rory ready for touring car season

Fife racing driver Rory Butcher has signed with the AmDtuning.com with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing team for the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season.

Rory will embark on his first full season in the series with the West Thurrock-based outfit and will partner series returnee Tom Boardman in the team’s second MG6 GT.

The 31-year-old joins AmDtuning.com, having made his debut in the series last season when he was called up by the Motorbase team for the final four rounds of the year in place of Luke Davenport, one of the drivers injured in a qualifying accident at Croft.

Despite no prior testing, Rory snared a pair of top 10 finishes on his debut at Knockhill and showed impressive speed through the remaining rounds as he regularly pushed for more points finishes.

Prior to that, Rory secured multiple race wins in the BTCC-supporting Porsche Carrera Cup GB, while second in the GT class of the European Le Mans Series was the highlight of a busy international programme.

Having sampled the MG for the first time during a test at Snetterton, with a stint in the car of team-mate Boardman, Rory is set for further pre-season running in the coming weeks ahead of the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch on the weekend of April 7-8.

He will be eligible to compete for the Jack Sears Trophy this season, which is now open to those drivers without a podium finish in the series.

With an interim colour scheme being used for testing, the AmDtuning.com with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing MG6 GT that Rory will race this season will be revealed in its racing colours for the first time at the BTCC’s annual season launch, on March 27 at Donington Park.

Rory said: “My move into the BTCC last season was all a bit last-minute and I was thrown in at the deep end for my debut at Knockhill, so I was determined to try and get a place on the grid this year to build on what I learned from the final four rounds of 2017 and to start building a long-term BTCC career.

“In January, it looked like it wasn’t going to be possible but then I spoke to Shaun about the MG and, with a lot of effort from the team and the support from my sponsors – who were eager to join me in the BTCC – we’ve been able to pull together a deal, which I’m absolutely delighted about.

“The BTCC is such a strong series, particularly this season, that it’s hard to make too many predictions about what we can expect to achieve, but the team has shown what it can do in recent seasons and my goal is to fight regularly inside the points and push for some strong results as the season goes on.

“Twelve months ago, I didn’t imagine I would be racing in the BTCC but there is no better place for me to be in terms of profile.

“The series is the very pinnacle of British Motorsport and I’m really excited.”